‘The Walking Dead’ Spoilers: Who Is Negan, The Saviors, Ezekiel, And Shiva The Tiger? [Video]

Those looking for a The Walking Dead recap are probably wondering who is Negan. After all, TWD TV show watchers are only given a very brief and cryptic reference to one of The Walking Dead’s villains before the TWD season 6 finale ended. For these The Walking Dead spoilers we must turn to the comics for guidance, since Negan and the Saviors are also accompanied by equally interesting characters like Ezekiel and a frickin’ tiger called Shiva.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, some fans think that The Walking Dead jumped the shark in the way it handled Glenn’s “death” scene. For those who just watched the episode “From Start To Finish,” we all know Glenn is still alive and never has a chance to meet Negan or Lucille (although he does climb a tree). We also learned that the mysterious voice on the radio was Eugene, not Glenn as some had speculated.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan will play Negan. Image via Paramount Pictures.

The Walking Dead: Enter Negan

Daryl Dixon, Sasha, and Abraham are the first to run into the Saviors. While walking back to Alexandria, they are stopped by a biker gang, who threaten to kill them by splitting them in half “straight through to the sinuses.”

“Why don’t you come on out? Join us in the road,” says the leader of the group. “You know, if you want to resist, try something. It’s a choice, I guess. But we will end your asses. Split you right in two — straight through to the sinuses.”

The man then informs them that their “property now belongs to Negan.” This means it’s just a matter of time before Glenn is captured and Rick’s group finds themselves at war with the Saviors.

So, how will Rick and Glenn run into Negan? It seems very likely that Paul “Jesus” Monroe will be showing up in The Walking Dead season 6 based upon leaked photos from the set. The entrance of the Jesus character results in Alexandria being connected with other Washington D.C. communities like Hilltop, but it also causes Rick to confront the Saviors.

To a certain extent, Negan could be considered the opposite of Rick. Negan relishes violence, using it as a means rather than an end in order to bring a better life to his people. The war with Negan is similar to the battle with the Governor, except that those people merely wanted to survive while the Saviors indulge in sadistic practices for the sake of it.

For example, in the comic version, Negan kills Glenn using a weapon he calls Lucille – a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. This brutal death was quite shocking in the comics, but a popular fan theory holds that Daryl Dixon’s death will act as a substitute. In fact, a leaked video from The Walking Dead seems to show Negan swinging his bat at someone next to Glenn, leading fans to speculate wildly on the identify of the victim.

While The Walking Dead spoilers have yet to reveal exactly what will happen in the second half, actor Andrew Lincoln did say that it will be “unbelievable.”

“I will say episodes eight through 16 — I’m more excited than I’ve ever been before, just where the story is headed,” Lincoln said, according to The Wrap. “Eight and nine are unbelievable. Unbelievable. They’re some of the best episodes I’ve read and when I was filming, it just got bigger and more epic and more insane every day that we shot. If I didn’t play Rick, I would love to be Negan. It is one heck of a role.”

Lincoln also teased that the actual The Walking Dead finale for season 6 will be one to remember.

“We just wrapped 24 hours ago on what I think is the darkest and most extraordinary season finale that we’ve ever attempted,” he said. “To say that I’m excited would be a vast understatement. And it ends with a very big bang.”

Shiva The Tiger [Image via The Walking Dead Comics]

The Walking Dead: Ezekiel And Shiva The Tiger

Just what exactly is this “big bang” that is being referred to? One might assume that the barbed wire bat may be part of that picture, but it’s also possible the TV show may feature a rampaging tiger destroying hordes of the undead.

In the comics, Ezekiel is the leader of a group called The Kingdom and he lives to see the day in which Negan and the Saviors are destroyed. The two survivor communities are already at war before Rick’s group enters the scene, but Ezekiel allies with Rick in order to bring Negan down.

The question is whether The Walking Dead season 6 will indeed have Shiva the tiger. The unlikely duo was a major part of the comics and creator Robert Kirkman once hinted heavily that he wants AMC to make sure the tiger stays in the script.

“There’s a guy who has a tiger for a pet in the comic named Ezekiel who’s really cool,” Kirkman said, according to Comic Book. “I always say that I never let the show influence what I’m doing in the comic. But I will say, when I was writing those characters in the comic, I was like, ‘Yeah, good luck doing this, show people!’ I think that we’ll be able to do the tiger. We’ll see.”

Since Game Of Thrones had people fighting bears in arenas, Kirkman believes it’s fully possible that Shiva the pet tiger will be featured. Of course, if the TV show gets a little too unreal, fans may start talking about jumping the tiger rather than jumping the shark.